Sectional dehybrator



Dec. 25, 1923.

W. B. NICHOLS SECTIONAL DEHYDRATOR Filed Aug. 4 3922 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 7 I o.. m l m u o .A I ry I QH lil :zur: 4. lfilrlliarll. s WNDU M67 HH Hw? c 0; Z7. 3 {HH HN www MUWF U no 7 4 l r 4,95 @if o ,a o Z o o o o o o l l I u I M .ATTORNEYSL w E. NISHOLS 5 est lor-JAL EEHYDHATGR ngt. 25, 1923,

, 1922' 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 4

Patente Das: 25, 923.

UNITE WILLIM B. NICHDLS, DE HABE-N HEIGHTS., JERSEY', ASSGNOR OIE' ONE-HLF T0 THIIS E.. BENSN, GF AUDEGN, NEW ERSEY.

nzrjwrvod mys.

a further cpnssts in u nomi mg Mwalllm, in thu www in elevation Flgam': :i presents n Svctmn on lane 2--2 Fi um 1.

*ig-ure 3 represents a, sefin. on Ln:- line maV 3 3 Figure 1, showing one of the wire mesh sereens and its adjuncts, and the manner ot supporting a superimposed screen upon the screen below it.

Figure t represents a section on line 4-4 Figure l.

'Figure 5 represents a section on line 5-5 Figure l.

Similar numerals of reference indicate corresponding parte.

Referring to the drawings In the manufacture of my novel sectional dehydrator i, employ one standard base member 2, and a, standard top member 3, which represent one complete unit, and in practice I assemble intermediately of said top and base the intermediate units or seo tions, as 4, 5, 6 and T, all of the same construction, our of such units being shown in Fig. 1 and it being evident thattheir number may be increased or diminished, according to requirements.

The base 2 is Composed of the annular shell 8, which is reinforced at its bottom edge, hy the inner ring 9, above which is the row ot' ports'l. il. designates parallel .:ays whirh extend transversely of the base and may ronsist ot' angular strips, as seen in Figi. l, whit-h are supported upon the iop ot the ring lt), said ways supporting the pan if. which is adapted for the reeepV tion ot' water, and consists of the bottom L3, the sides l-l and the ends 15. Heat is appiied to or introduced into the hase 2, from any suitable soui're. as electricity, gas, oil or an ordinary coal store. and thi` rogulation of the initial supply ot' lil-at may he effected by any suitable tonreutionfil means.

In order to prevent the hui-nine' or soort-hinf,lr of food in any ot the sections. portionial'ly the tiret, l provide tin` rhan'iher ltia which is lorated between the lop and hottom wails 1.7 and itl, and routains` zwi' uit ablerheat resisting or non-roneluvlingr unitorlal aS lll. The bulloni delli-rior null 1S inelinrs upwardly and inwardly and lrrn1inales in` the tuliular exloiuion 2li, haring the. internal head 3i. ahorn hivh flul tubular extension 22. "llw top walt or hatlle li incliues don'iiunrilli' und inuuii ly. and terminates in llir upwardly intending tubular nienilar .31. rliiih luis the portinol or tongues i detlerivd iaterallv, al wen in Figs. 'L and .7. said iuluilar nivnlwi ft surroundingv the tuhutar oxiepsion Btl.

Upon the tongues or hilerallv delleftud flanges 2l is supported tlnlouer trai' 25, whit'h is provided with the liottoni wall und annular outer and inner wrliral rims. upon whith are seein-oil tlulati-rally extending outer and inner longues :lo and 'lliure are eaeh preferably l'our in nulidad- :is will be understood lroni l-`ifnro 3, and iipon these tongues` 215 and 'li' :iro supporti-d an upper tray 13l made of wire mesh and hav tions 4, 5,"6 and 7.

ing an annular' outer and inner upright wall, which is also provided with the outer loops er tongues :26 and 27 of the character alreafiy described. It will he noticed that the tongues 26 are inturned horizontally from the outer'peripheral rims ol the trays, and the tongues 27 are inturned horizontally from the inner peripheral rims of said trays and so form broad supports for the trays one on the other. The upper portion of the outer wall 8 0f the base section is provided with an annular head 29, from which extends an upward annular extension 3l), upon which is superimposed one of the dehydrator sections or units l, the same comprising an outer wall 3l having the outer bead 32 and the upward extension 33. The section 4 has a bottoni wall 35, which inelines downwardly and inwardly, and is provided with the upward tubular portion 36 having the lateral tongues or fianges 3T", said tubular portion 3G engaging the inner tubular portion 3T, which is provided with an internal bead 38, above which is the tubular extension 39.

The tongues or anges 37X serve as supports-for sup .rim ed wire screens, whose /eonstruction' las a ready lieen deseribed.

The hase member or section 2 is provided' with the handles 40, is also the upper seel't will he understood that the base section 2 is provided Ywith ports 4l, whereby the heating medium is permitted to 'Oe discharged laterally into the space between the wall or baille 17 and the superimposed wire screens, while the tubular member 3T is provided with Similar ports t2, which permit the heating medium to f'liseharge upon the space between the bottom vall 35 ot' the section ft and the superimposed wire sereens above said wall.

lt will he understood from Figure 1 that when the various dehydrator sections are assembled, a Central annular flue 43 is forn'ied, wht-rein the dehytlratinl;r medium ascend; upwardly, :i portion of said heatingr medium discharging laterallyr through the ports :is l-l and 42. and the exhaust' being permitted lo thil exterior through the ports' li in the side walls ol earh sei-tion t, 5. d and T. 'l'hr upper portion of the llui` `lil ['orined hy the aswnildy otn the see-tions discharges into the' ventral flue lil olE thtI top set-lion il, vrhirli is providtul at its upper portion 'with the port if, which ronnnuniuate uilh the ports ttl and the rotary damper 4i'. the lalter beingr rotatably mounted on the stein 48 and havingl the knob or fingjer pieee '19 with a pin 5t) passinglr therethrough, whereby the damper t7 ran he readily rotated.

Tt: will he apparent that when the ports 'l5 and lG are out of alignment, as indicated in Figure 2, the upward prpgress ot' the dehydrated medium will he retarded, and when said ports are in alignment, a free tio lill) liti rating mrfiiiuul and iii.

w'rifelweeu, Uu the @mei u i fi iu uurs' imm in l l. i

! nlignil'ig por?? from Figurv i. rum; l ber 5l ami formi@ iii; ef'rli 1:5, rada lV am uuei the {leiiuii-.uziu

base sm'flim u. complelr un?? ablwl in fruit in' i lffrfri'vrl ffil The 'si l i having im!!! uriuium bled in lafg nl um imliciitrld in 192g, iai luai [he vupfirim-il sm' it vili a;

illu-:Lv pluim! even distribution of aqueous haat units over the satire aren of the fond rays in` each Sertien.

Bv the employment of the sectional units of tv e character dorscrihed, it will he apparent that not only can the capacity f the eliydrator be varied at' will by the housekeeper 0l user, but after the operator is through dehydrating, the, number of Sections whivh have been used may be cleaned *ii-lumi. any material effort', due to the fact thaiy the unions sections or units are annular, haw un corners and can be easily taken apart., which an important item not present in dehyfrzitor eonsrucled as a single unit rigid apparatus.

iu @zich nuit Ei-e'iiuu liu'vr made provi- Simi fur the uumhinuiiun of two wire. mesh {i'aiyn which .may be uerfi singly Ur in unison as the guantiiy 0f imil heilig dehydrated (lemmula fikse: iuys wing wily l'flmmed like lie wir @i the uni and thus being uapahis: o? hefing Rept in u perfect sanitary rolfliin By the iii-)ral yconaiructirm of the has@ or first. .secii'n umriss is provided for prenting the burning 0r scorching ol fumi in any 01" the sez'tiuns, particularly thu first" since the comprtn'wfat pgi'luu'l with thv brat resisting 0i nurcuzulucting malin-inl (-auses lus buiimu tray tu not exi-veil u degree of l'iea hilfl iimu that transmitted through the contrai heut aliambvr 1U ih@ upper super impfieii pu This ilvgl'vi of linut may 0f couru-1; ha ufgulaitml tu the huil-eil extent. by the hailing appliance used` whether it be electricity. gaa, nil or :1n ordinary cual strive. and, in uclfliiusu there proviilvcl thv heat regulator au' roi-arf.' damper 4?, wlwse funiA lion has :if iwan explained, this lient rffulaturl im only requirwl whure the nu' iure @f iiilan-ft applizmmu iS Snell :is tu pr(`- wut its prupcr regulation Ii; will furilim he uppzirvut lmt l have mail@ piw-risinu liu' remlily taking the tempuruture of :my individual unis sodium hy the Simple ngiie'erution nf iuerrting ilu` uur fury liullj:4 Ui" flu) m'fliimr ilu-rfnfunftinr imm uny 0i illu puri, .rmi hull-sy in Ehemllm' all nl' th tlvllyi'ii'utuif sirtinns, it llc-ing apparent that by my nm'vl constrxuflion. Hw twupxralum of fmv una en" vri-ry unit muy he mhialiufeli libri-iq uim'izifiugf tlm mw'rssity nl5 {unex-ling any pair? nl' 'hc lleliyilrutm' with it. subsefpurn liras mi heut.

.it will urilufr im appui-cnt that hy my npvuings in ai wu'li urii m* sm'tiun iwi; mhuusi pa si which pvrmit lh:- vgrws n? ilu- :ifffu ami vapor in that pultil-ulnr unil. prevailing au'iutmniiugling nl Harm-s mui ulg-rg imparted from un assortment of fluidi, whif-h may be in the process of deijniruiinu i: the same time.

The dials? iudiruiur 51 muy be set to in- Howl Smtimul rfrusiriutiuu. tho the univr walls dicate the duration of time required for the dehydration of the food in each particular' unit section.

It will be seen from the foregoing that by my invention, the mechanical act of evaporating through exosmosis practically allthc water and moistureJ from food bythe process of softening the to' gh libres with vapor-ized air without breaking up the cellular coats of starch and Without bursting the granules or cell Walls of'the food; can he effectively carried out by my device. The foregoing operation is accomplished without dry heating but with suflicient moist heat to destroy all parasites and disease germs, removing practically all Water and carrying the foods to a state of semi-solidification.` A linal treatment of dry heat helnxetically seals up all the various outer tissue cells of the food stutl's, which makes it possible to keep food from decomposing or disintegrating for practically an indefinite period Dehydration ci'lied ont as in my invention reduces the food bulk from many times its original size and weight and makes it possible for the saine food to regain its original condition by simply submerging it in water for a time.

The foods thus dehydrated ditl'er from those put through the drying process inasmuch as the flavors, colors and vitamines are practically retained as when in their original condition, whereas the drying of foods is a process which invariably bursts the cellular coats of starch and the granules of grain and cells of other foods. volatizing their odors and flavors and emptying the cells of the vitamine contents, changing the color and rendering less nourishing and less staple, foods treated otherwise than by dehydration.

It will consequently be apparent from the foregoing that dehydrationparticularly as carried out by my novel apparatus possesses advantages over the less economic methods ot cold-pacltY and preserving with sugar, smeerG First :*No additional material` as bottles, sugar, or jar tops. is ref uired, and there is no breakage or food loss through fermentation.

Second :H'lhere is a great saving in labor effected by the reduction in time required in preparing bottles, sterilizing containers and4 in the blanching of most foods.

Third :--'1`he heat required in dehydration is reduced to a point Where it is almost negligible in cost, and the low degree of confined heat eliminates the objectionable feature of having the housel uubearably heated with steam and its consequent darnn age to wa'll surfaces, such as occurs in coldpaclr, steam or preserving processes.

Fourth z-An additional advantage in de hydration by my novel apparatus occurs out, of the sinplioity of the process, since no danger or personal injury lo the operator.A Such as scalding. burning or the like is presi ent. and only a very small sto1'age,space is required for the dehydrated products. For example, rhubarb and asparagus reduce themselves to about oneetcnth of their original bulli. and the only container necessary vtor these dehydrated foods is the commonly used paper bag.

lt will further be apparent in the manufacture of my device that the base and top Sections 2 and 3 are of standard construct ion, and that all the internu-diate units or sections, as 4, (l and 7, are also ot' one standard construction. so that the apparatus in its entirety can be very cheaply constructed and readily assembled by any housekeeper or servant.

While I have shown the pre fcrred manner of assembling the base section and the superimposed sections and top sections. it will be apparent that slight changes may be made in the manner of constructing and assembling these sections, if desired.

1t will be apparent. from Figure l that the outer bead 2f) and the inner bead lt of the lower or base section serve as abutments to arrest or limit the downward movement ot the superimposed sect ion or nuit` l. and thatl the Corresponding beads ot' the upper superimposed sectionsor elements have the saine function, so that when all the sections arc assembled, r#they are readily centered and guided during; the act of assembling or superiinposing the sections or units upon each other.

It will` however, be apparent that other equivalent const rnetions which will facilitate the centering and removal of the sections or units may be employed, without departing from the spirit of my invention.

It` will further be apparent from Figure 1 that the lower wall i8 of the base section 2 serves as a detlector plate to converge or direct the dehydrating medium iut o the central tine` and that the upper lwall 117 serves as a baille plate to direct the dehydrating ymedium from the central flue. and that the upper 'all l? serves as a battle plate properly tri-direct the portions ot' thc dclrvdrating medium which have their exit through the ports All in the desired direction upwardly through the trays 25 and 2S.

It will of course be understood that. while I have shown a plurality ot the trays 25 and 28 employed in the various sections, that only a single tray may be employed, if desired. The lower one of the trays, as 25, is effectively supported in a horizontal position by its Contact with the outer periphery of the baille plate li'. and with the tongues, flanges or lugs 24, as is evident.

It will be apparent, that a sectional dehydrator constructed in accordance with my vinvention can be effectively used for dehywall, whereby (hating fruits. vegetables and the like, is simple in operation, compact in forni. has low nmnulizicturingjr roer. high practical eflicfienev. in seuil-anx' under ull conditions und will be Capable of thoroughly dehydrating n large rpinntity of fruits or Vegetables in a short space of time.

HavingT thus described lu)v invention. what I claim new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is z- 1. In a. devine otl the rhziraeter stated, n base section provided with u pluralitij,v of ports in the wnll thereof. a water holdin;r tray carried b v said base sertion. a central Hue for :said base section, en upwardly inelined delleetine wall in the upper portion of said base section, a baille plate wall above said first-named wall whereby a Chamber i5 formed between sai-d walls. and lient resistr ing material loented in said chamber.

2. In a cleviee of the churn-eter stated, e. hase section provided with a plurnlit`r of ports in the outer wall thereof, a ventral flue for said hase section` :1n upwardly inclined delieeting wall in the upper portion of said base section, at bnllle plate above .Quid

wall. whereby a Chamber is formed between said walls. and e heat resisting material in said chamber, there being ports in said eentral Hue for permitting the delijv'drating me dium to discharge upon said bathe plate.

3. In e device. of the Character stated. n base section provided with a pluralityr of ports in the outer Wall thereof. a renti-al flue for said hase section. an upwardly inclined deleeting wall in the upper portion of said hase section, e baille plate above smid a. Chamber is formed between seid walls, and si heut resisting material in said. chamber. there being ports in said een trai flue for permittingv the dehydrating medium to discharge upon said ballle plete, in combination with a removable tray sup ported above .said baille plate.

4. In :i devire of the character stated. n base seetion provided with porte in Vthe outer Wall thereof. an :annular ring reinforcingF the inner lower edge of' said wall, :t water holding tray mounted on supports eurried bv said bottom annular ringT a bottoni` deflect ing wall in the upper portion of said buse seetion, an upper wall in Said base section forming a bzille pluto, thereby formingr n Chamber between said walls, a parking of non-eondurting .material in said rhaioher, t entr-.1l verienl line for said bei-e section. an internal bead in said flue. and en external horizontally aligning bead on said outer wall for effecting the positioning of an up per dehydrating section or unit.

5. In a dehydrator, a detachable interme4 dia-te section or unit, comprisingr an outer wall having an annular bead thereon, a lower Wall forming a base of said unit and having its inner portion secured to an openended tube, .said tube having: ports therein discharging upon the upper sui-fare of said bottom wall. and laterali;- deflected tongues on the inner portion ol' `s'aid nuit. for Supporting a detarlnible irnv.

(3. ln :i dehydrator. :i hase sertion provided with n central upwardl)v extendirnLY ilul und au outer annular wzdl. :in inwardly projertiin.r bend in Suid reutrnl flue. an oulwardly' provini-ting: bend ou said outer wall in horizouiul ulikgnuufut. and a .suprriuiposel detuchable sw'tion or uni! havingr illower edges supported upon ysaid heads. and a top sei-tion provided with a central vertical flue aligningr with the central Hoil ol smid base, sertiou und intermediate seriiou.

i'. ln n delrvilrutor. u hase sertiou provided with a. rentra] upwurdlv exlendiirgl flue und an outer annular wall. un inwardly {'nojerling lfend in vsaid rentrul flue. an outwurdljv projecting bead on said outer wall in horizonte] alignment n .superimposed detnehable sertiou or unit having its lower edges ASupported upon .said beads'. and n top serftion provided with ay central vertical (luf` nligninpr with the ventral (lue of ,smid has@ section and intermediate ser-tion. iu eoinbination'with poit-` in the iop oll `aid renlral upper llue. and n draft regulator for eoulrolling the exit of the dehvdrating medium through said ports.

Fi. In n device ol' the rhararter stated. a buse :section provided with ports in the lower portion thereof. a waiter holding' trav supported in Said hase sertion and extending transversely ihe-reof.\an upper deliri-tor wall for said hase section and a baille plattl above said base section. a reutrul [lue for said buse Section having ports disrharginu above Suid baille plate. a plurality ol delai-lr eble sertions or units superimposml ahovo said bese seetion und upon eaeh other. sziid units being provided with a ventral flue aligning,y with the flue of the hase `s'erlion und having ports in the side wallel thereof, and also ports in said central llue l'or di charging the dehlidratinzer medium upon tho material to be treated. and a top sei-tion also provided with a centi-:il llue .'iligniuplr with the flues of the bue-,e set-tion and the inlriv mediate units.

9. In u. device of the` rhnrarler slated. n linee sertion provided with ports iu the lower portion thereof, a, Water holding;r tra;Y suo ported in said buse ,section :ind extending transversely thereof. an opper deliri-lor wall for Suid base section und :a halllr. plate above said base Seelion, a ventral flue lor said base section hntvin;r ports discharging above said baille plate, a plurality of detachable sections or units superiml'iosed above said base section and upon euch other. seid unitr: beinlgr provided with e. eentrnl llue aligning with the flue ofthe base set-tion and having ports in the side walls thereof and also porte iu said central flue for discharging the dehydrating;r medium upon the material to be treated, and a top section also provided with a central flue aligning With the flues of the buse section and the intermediate units, in combination with ports in the top wall of said upper flue, and rotatable draft regulator controlling the exib of the dehydrating medium through said ports.

10. A detachable section for a dehydrator composed of :in outer annular Wall, an inner flue` :i bottom wall, and ports in said inner flue discharging upon said bottom wall, and ports in said outer wall for permitting the esrupe of the dehydrating medium, a dial on said outer Wall, and a pointer for said dial.

11. In a device of the character stated, u detachable dehydrator unit provided with :1 bottom wall, an outer annular wall and :i

central annular Hue, the latter having porta 20 therein discharging above said bottom walL inner laterally deflected tongues for supporting the inner edges of an annular trajl and'a plurality of outer and inner laterally projecting supports carried by said tray or supporting a superimposed tray. W'ILLIAM B. NICHOLS.

lVitnesses:

Trios. E. BENSON,

C. D. MCVAY. 

